Lucius Accius facts for kids

Lucius Accius (born 170 BC, died around 86 BC), also known as Lucius Attius, was an important Roman writer. He was famous for writing sad plays, called tragedies, and for studying literature.

Accius was born in 170 BC in a town called Pisaurum. This town was founded in 184 BC in an area known as the Ager Gallicus. His parents were former slaves who had gained their freedom, likely from Rome.

We don't know the exact year Accius died. However, he lived to be very old. A famous Roman speaker named Cicero, who was born 64 years after Accius, wrote about talking with him about books and writing. This shows Accius lived a long and full life.

What Lucius Accius Wrote

Accius was a very busy writer and was highly respected. We still have the titles and many parts (about 700 lines) of around 50 plays he wrote. He worked as a poet for 36 years, from 140 BC to 104 BC.

Plays and Stories

Most of Accius's plays were based on Greek stories. He would often copy or freely translate plays by famous Greek writers like Aeschylus. One of his first plays was probably Atreus, performed in 140 BC, but it is now lost.

He also wrote plays about Roman history. One play, called Brutus, was about the cruel ruler L. Tarquinius Superbus and how he was kicked out by Lucius Junius Brutus. This play was likely written to honor his friend D. Brutus.

Accius especially liked writing about the Trojan War and the family of Pelops. Even though only parts of his plays remain, they show why ancient writers admired him. People praised his strong and powerful language. They also liked his grand and serious ideas.

Other Writings

Accius wrote other types of books about literature. His Libri Didascalicon was a book in poetry about the history of Greek and Roman poetry. It also covered how plays were made.

He also wrote books called Libri Pragmaticon, Parerga, and Praxidica. Sadly, we don't have any parts of these books today. Accius also wrote a history of Rome in a special type of poetry called hexameter, similar to the writer Ennius.

Accius and Language

Accius tried to make changes to how Latin was written and spoken. He wanted written Latin to sound more like how people actually spoke it. Most of his ideas for changing spelling did not catch on.

However, he preferred not to add Latin endings to Greek names. Many people supported this idea, especially Varro. Varro even dedicated his book De antiquitate litterarum to Accius.

Accius also suggested writing long vowels twice, like aa for a long 'a' sound. You can find this spelling in some texts from his time.

His Personality and Beliefs

Accius was a traditional person in his political views. He was generally known for being serious and dignified. However, he believed that talented writers, like himself, should be respected more than people who were just born into rich families.

Some people thought he was a bit full of himself. Writers sometimes joked about the very large statues of himself that he put up in the temple of the Muses.

A famous line from Accius's play Atreus is oderint dum metuant. This means "let them hate, so long as they fear."

See also

In Spanish: Lucio Accio para niños